Jack’s Notebook by Gregg Fraley is a wonderful book about using Creative Problem Solving (CPS) to provide, “ a better balance of imagination and analysis.” Gregg believes that, “With improved creative-thinking skills we can meet more of our challenges, solve more problems, and take advantage of opportunities by creating novelty that is useful.”
Gregg Fraley hits upon a point that is near and dear to my heart as an educator who is thinking about the future and the skills that will be necessary to succeed in our modern information age. He says, “Ideas are the most important asset any person or organization has. It’s very straightforward: if you have more ideas, and better ideas, you’ll be more successful—however you define success—at whatever your goals are. Of course, you have to take action on these ideas if you want to enjoy the fruits of your labors.”
I wanted to stand up and applaud! It is clear to me, and I hope many of you, that the one thing that is going to set our students apart in the global economy is their creativity and ideas. If a manager has two applicants if front of him or her, and both of these applicants have learned the same knowledge and facts, but is going to set one apart from the other. Creativity! Problem solving skills! Two people who both passed standardized tests and assessments are going to be differentiated in some way. That is the cold hard facts. No employer is going to care about your elementary school C.S.T. test scores or you high school S.A.T. What they want to know is how will you solve problems because business and real life are filled with them.
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